Today was a day like many others for me. I woke up this morning with a backache and needing to answer nature's call. Got that done, got dressed and walked the dog about 3 miles. Came back to the apartment and eventually made breakfast for Skye & myself. watched a little TV - two episodes of Hazel. Then printed up my tax documents to bring to a CPA to get my taxes done. Brought those documents to the CPA, with Skye along for the ride. The CPA or his receptionist wanted me to deliver them in person rather than email them. Funny since the guy would not shake my hand due to Corona protocol two days ago.
After that, we went to get some cash out of an ATM. It was out of order so we drove to the bank. Bank doors were locked, sign on door said use drive up windows only. Got back into the car a drove to the drive up window and got some cash to last a couple or three weeks. Then headed to Sam's Club to fill up the Toyota's gas tank and to get whatever I needed that I did not already have which was not much.
While in the frozen food section, a woman walking my may started to cough a gurgling harsh cough and when she saw me looking at her she lifted her arm and coughed into the crook of her elbow. She then put her head down and walked around me and away. She looked frigging miserable, like she was all droopy, dark under both of her eyes, as if the cough had been painful, and like shit in general as she seemingly dragged her arse through the store. Kind of like I imagine you'd look if you had the flu or maybe COVID-19. While I've seen plenty of folks with the flu and have had it myself a few times, including swine flu, I have zero known experience with the current virus. She also looked guilty, I mean had a guilty look on her face when she saw me noticing her cough and then as she bowed her head and walked away. I have seen plenty of people with that look during my 32 year career in LE so it's was not my imagination making me think so. Regardless of all that, I am not too concerned but with all the Novel Corona Virus stuff, there was a tiny bit of a freaked out feeling for me there for a moment.
I just continued shopping and of course, two things I wanted most they did not have: hand sanitizer and a case or two of water. I don't usually drink tap water except for when I make my coffee or use ice cubes - so I go through cases of water pretty quickly but none was to be had. That's okay though for now because I have three and a half cases at home (always have two or three cases in reserve) and also have several bottles of flavored seltzer. As for the hand sanitizer, I have a very small bottle and a regular sized one (half full) and probably two bottles of 70% alcohol and two bottles of 92% alcohol, stuff I usually keep on hand for emergencies; however, if I could have found aloe gel, I'd have made my own hand sanitizer gel. Anyway, I can just use the alcohol if needed.
Regardless, I probably won't need the sanitizer gel. I plan to stay home most of the next few weeks; well I'll go shopping if necessary but only if I cannot avoid it. I'll still be going to the park across the way multiple times daily to walk Skye. We'll also go into Texarkana to the dog park there until they chain the gate shut - which I am guessing they will do if this illness spreads more here. I suppose no one in the city government has thought of it yet or it would have been done already. While I have enough supplies to become a hermit for a few weeks to a month or two, I do need to get out with the dog at least a few times daily. We should be going out again soon.
Once back home today, I finished up the second batch of corned beef, cabbage, parsnips and turnips I have made during the past week. Cooked on on Friday when Brendan came over, then another one yesterday or Monday. I do love corned beef and I have another still in the package in my fridge. Skye had a snack while I had my lunch.
Sometime in there, we went out for a very brief walk so she could water the lawn. Speaking of being out with Skye, a short while later, I brought her out on the back patio today to give her neck a sponge bath. She had a ring of dirt and or rust around her neck from where her collar sits. It was supposed to be stainless steel but it obviously is chromed and that is wearing off, in fact I've used two different ones with the same effect - that ring around her neck. Whatever it is, she needed a good scrubbing and when I brought her in for a dog bath last month, the young lady could not get it all off. Today I used Dawn dish washing detergent on her with a sponge that had a scrubber backing on one side. I've had folks tell me to only use dog shampoo so as not to harm her skin but I figured if Dawn is okay on ducks, geese, penguins, other shorebirds, small mammals - all that have been the victims of oil spills - then why the heck not use it and just be sure to rinse it off well. I cannot tell yet if it all came off but it looked a lot cleaner; I think though when it's dry I'll be able to tell for sure if Dawn & I got the job done.
While we were out there, I had been holding her to keep er next to me when cleaning and rinsing her. I let her go when done and she turned toward the patio fence, went right to the one loose board, pushed on it a bit and it pivoted open like a doggie door and she was out on the complex's lawn. She never even showed interest before but she knew right where was that loose board. Talk about being freaked out. I ran through the apartment, out the door, around the building calling her as I did so. Ran through the bushes out front and did not see her. I called her again and suddenly there she was running over to me. She does not obey the "come" command very often if off the leash so she usually only is let loose in the fenced in dog park or in the park across the way but with the leash on and dragging behind her (that seems to make it much more likely she obeys the come command). This time though, she must have been a bit scared of being out there alone and she came running, almost flying, over to me and I got the leash on her quickly.
Back in the apartment now and she is sleeping now. In a little while though, off to the dog park for us.
Stay safe and healthy.
All the best,
Glenn B
